Human Information Interaction

Background and Aim: The aim of this study was to explore the article reading behavior of faculty members working for state-run universities.

Method: This survey study used an online questionnaire for data collection. The research population consisted of all the faculty members in the fields of Electronic Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physic, Chemistry and Mathematics, Management, Psychology and Social Science. Email addresses of respondents were obtained from their universities’ websites and the invitation emails were sent to them with the link of the online questionnaire.

Results: The results showed that respondents used international electronic journals the most and print copy of Persian journals the least. They tried to keep up-to-date with the latest developments of their field. The last article read by 80% of them belonged to 2014 or 1393. In terms of the number of articles read, there was no significant difference between different subjects. There was correlation between the number of article published and the number of articles read by faculty members. Majority of respondents used web searching to find out about the articles.

Conclusion: Faculty members were happy with the transition of journals to electronic format. They try to increase their visibility internationally. There are disciplinary differences in reading behavior